Balcony Scene
by Leesa Perrie
Summary: Set after Season 4's episode Reunion, Sam and John on the balcony talking, with an interruption by Rodney...


**Balcony Scene**

**By Leesa Perrie**

_Tag to Reunion_

Sam wandered onto the balcony just off the control room, finding herself gravitating to it naturally whenever she needed to step away from her new job for moment or two. She wasn't the only one to do this and had often seen John disappear onto the balcony from time to time. Even Rodney felt the need from what she'd heard.

In fact, many of the balconies were often to be found occupied by one or another person seeking a break, and she couldn't blame them for it; the fresh air, the view - it was a good way to relax.

And she wasn't surprised when John entered the balcony a few minutes later; they'd shared a few conversations out here, first after losing Elizabeth, and a couple of times since taking on her new position. She suspected the balcony was more neutral territory than her office, with all its subsequent memories of his, their, missing friend.

"Hey," he said in his usually casual manner, and she turned to greet him.

"Hey. How's Ronon doing?"

"He'll be okay, he's tough. Settling back into his quarters."

"It can't be easy for him."

"No. Apparently, he considered them as family, so finding out they were working for the Wraith…" he trailed off. "But, like I said, he's tough. He'll be fine."

He turned to look out over the water for a moment.

"You do realise there's a good chance the Wraith will try to grab McKay again, don't you?"

"It had crossed my mind," she answered.

"Yeah, and judging by the mini-freak out he had when we got back, it's crossed his as well." There was a hint of amusement in John's voice despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Mini-freak out?"

"Don't worry about it, he's fine now. Well, as fine as he ever is. He might not look it… or sound it," he added with a roll of his eyes, "But he's pretty tough as well, in his own way."

"Has to be, to still be on your team after all this time. I have to admit, when I first heard about that I was…"

"Surprised?"

"More like astounded. The McKay I knew… no way would I have thought he'd be able to function as part of a team or willingly go off world into danger. I was wrong about him."

John shrugged.

"Easy mistake to make, and he has changed. At first…" John grinned suddenly at the memories, shaking his head. "Well, let's just say he insulted more cultures than I can count and made Teyla's negotiations extremely hard at times. Now, though, he tends to keep his criticisms to the team… well, some of the time, anyway." John stopped for a moment, turning serious. "We'll just have to be even more careful off world, make sure he isn't left alone, doesn't wander off, that sort of thing. Not that he wanders off so much now."

"But he used to."

"Yeah, he'd see something interesting and go and investigate, forgetting to tell anyone what he was doing or where he was going. Thought I'd have to get him a leash at one point, though he'd probably be allergic to the flea collar that came with it," he said with a wicked grin. "Let's just say, we had a few… interesting… conversations about that particular habit."

"Sounds like Daniel. He used to get distracted and wander off in the early days, but not now. Well, not so much," she added ruefully.

"Scientists!" John exclaimed in mock exasperation, before sobering and adding quickly, "Well, _civilian_ scientists, I should say before you get offended."

Sam laughed.

"Oh, I don't know about that. It's a temptation that _all _scientists get, it's just those in the military are aware of things like chains of command," she admitted, before adding, "I could suggest confining him to Atlantis to keep him safe, but I suspect that wouldn't go down too well."

"Hell, no. He's pulled our butts out of the fire more times than I can count. We need him out there, on the team. Though don't tell him I said that. He doesn't need his ego bolstering anymore than it is."

"No," Sam agreed with a small grin. "He doesn't."

"Besides, if he was confined to Atlantis for any length of time the scientists will probably mutiny. They've got used to his absences; they're like a mini-vacation for them."

"Well, I wouldn't want a mutiny on my hands," Sam replied dryly.

"Didn't think so. Don't worry, the team's got his back."

"I know."

They were interrupted by the balcony doors sliding open.

"Oh, there you are," came the slightly strident tones of one Rodney McKay, carrying a PC tablet.

"Yes, McKay, here we are," John said, turning to face his team-mate.

"No, not you, I was looking for Sam."

"Feeling the love here, Rodney," John commented dryly.

"What? Oh, very funny." McKay dismissed his comment and turned to Sam. "I've just downloaded the data I was able to get from the Wraith computers…"

"You downloaded data from their computers?" John asked. "You didn't say anything about that on the way back."

"Yes, well, I was rather preoccupied by the fact that the Wraith want me_personally_ as opposed to, you know, just _generally_…"

"Yeah, I've been wondering how they found out about your modifications to the Replicator base code in the first place," John interrupted.

"From the Replicator, apparently, though how they managed to get that information from it remains a mystery. Anyway, the good news is that the Wraith deactivation virus won't work and all their work on modifying is a waste of time, due to the changes I made in the Replicator base code during our first encounter. What they need to do is go back to the drawing board and start from scratch if they have any hope of overriding the attack code, and at the moment all their research is aimed at modification of the existing virus…"

"So we don't have to worry about them stopping the Replicators any time soon?" Sam clarified.

"Not until they realise they need to start over, no. And who knows when they'll realise that, or how long it will take them to work up a new virus from scratch? To be honest, I'm still their best bet of stopping the war in the near future… which isn't exactly a comforting thought."

"Don't worry, we'll keep them away from you," John said.

"You can't guarantee that, no one can," Rodney stated somewhat morosely.

"True, but we'll do our very best. The alternative is to not go off world…"

"Which isn't a viable option, so don't even think about it," McKay immediately objected.

"We're not," John assured him, trying to hide his smirk before changing the subject. "You seen Ronon yet, you know, to give him back the painting you stole?"

"I did not steal it!" Rodney protested. "He was leaving and it was only going to go into storage, so…"

"You stole it," John repeated, continuing before McKay could respond, "You haven't returned it yet, have you?"

"Um, well, I asked Teyla to…"

"Coward."

"Too damn right!"

"You know he wouldn't really hurt you… well, not _much _anyway."

"Oh thanks, that's so reassuring… Not!"

Sam shook her head at their antics. They were like two brothers squabbling; like Jack and Daniel, she thought fondly.

It might be a new start in a new place, but it seemed that some things stayed the same.

She had a feeling she would fit in here just fine.

The End

_A/N: The idea about the Wraith needing to start from scratch with their virus is my own and is therefore based on very limited knowledge of how these things work or might work… and so is probably full of errors that will make computer programmers bang their heads on their desks, or even turn in their graves…Sorry!_


End file.
